($1,629) Movers From Columbus, OH to Olympia, WA

What to know before moving from Columbus to Olympia

Moving from Columbus to Olympia means adjusting to a different pace of life — and a different price tag. On average, it costs significantly more to live in Columbus than in Olympia, making the move an opportunity for many to enjoy a lower cost of living.

Check out how Columbus compares to Olympia so you know what to expect before you relocate:

• Rent prices in Olympia are 32% higher than in Columbus, which means you’ll have less money in your pocket each month.
• In terms of homeownership, you’ll be able to get more for your money in Columbus.
  Home prices in Olympia are 113.0% higher than in Columbus.
• Income in Olympia is 2.2% higher than in Columbus, so you could earn more for doing the same job. The top employers in Olympia include Washington State ESD, The Evergreen State College, and Employment Security Department.
• The cost of living for a single person in Olympia is 11.2% lower than in Columbus. This includes routine expenses like utilities, groceries, clothing, and transportation.
• The cost of living for a family in Olympia is 25.6% lower than in Columbus.
• The unemployment rate in Olympia is 1.75% lower than in Columbus.
• You’ll spend more on retail and restaurants in Olympia, since the city’s sales taxes in Olympia are 25.33% higher than in Columbus.
• One perk of moving to Olympia is paying less in state income taxes, which are 100.00% lower than in Columbus.

To put this in perspective, you would need around $2,664.87 in Olympia to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with $3,000.00 in Columbus.

How life is different in Columbus vs. Olympia

• Olympia might offer you a slower pace of life, since the population is about 94% less than Columbus.
• Your access to buses, shuttles, trams, or trains in Olympia will be about the same as it currently is in Columbus. The cities share a similar public transportation score, which means their transit systems are comparable in terms of how connected they are, how often they provide service, and how close they are to jobs, housing, retail and food stores, and other important locations.
• You’ll find Olympia to be about as walkable as Columbus. The two cities have similar walkability scores of 39 and 41 respectively out of 100 in terms of how close housing is to businesses, recreational facilities, and jobs.
• If cycling is your thing, Olympia is considered more bike-friendly than Columbus in terms of designated lanes and connectivity and how many residents opt to commute on two wheels rather than by car. Olympia has a bike-friendliness score of 59 out of 100, while Columbus is rated as 48 out of 100.
• Olympia has a lower crime rate than Columbus based on scores of 27.95 and Columbus's 49.65, respectively. The crime index shows how safe a city is perceived to be. So, a lower score generally means less crime.
• You might find more confidence in your overall safety in Olympia than in Columbus, based on Olympia’s safety index of 62.25 versus 50.35 for Columbus. With this index, higher scores indicate more safety, particularly around how comfortable residents feel walking alone during the day and at night.
• The air quality in Olympia and Columbus is generally the same (Good). Cities with good to moderate ratings have clean or acceptable air quality, with the possibility of small pollutants affecting people with certain health conditions like asthma. Anything beyond the moderate rate means increased impact on residents.